Hands-Free Umbrella Assembly

ABSTRACT

A hands-free umbrella assembly for hands-free use of an umbrella includes a belt that may be worn around a waist. An umbrella is provided that has a shaft and a canopy that is coupled to the shaft. A hinge is coupled to the shaft and an engagement is coupled to the hinge. The engagement engages the belt such that the umbrella is removably coupled to the belt. In this way the canopy is retained over the user when the belt is worn.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT Not Applicable THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The disclosure and prior art relates to umbrella devices and more particularly pertains to a new umbrella device facilitating hands-free use of an umbrella.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a belt that may be worn around a waist. An umbrella is provided that has a shaft and a canopy that is coupled to the shaft. A hinge is coupled to the shaft and an engagement is coupled to the hinge. The engagement engages the belt such that the umbrella is removably coupled to the belt. In this way the canopy is retained over the user when the belt is worn.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hands-free umbrella assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a back view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a detail view taken from circle 7 of FIG. 1 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new umbrella device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the hands-free umbrella assembly 10 generally comprises a belt 12 that may be worn around a waist 14. The belt 12 has a first end 16 and a second end 18 and the first end 16 is matable to the second end 18 such that the belt 12 selectively forms a closed loop. A fastener 20 is coupled to the first end 16 of the belt 12 and the fastener 20 receives the second end 18 of the belt 12. The fastener 20 may be a belt buckle or the like and the belt 12 may have a plurality of apertures and the fastener 20 may selectively engage a selected aperture.

An umbrella 22 is provided that has a shaft 24 and a canopy 26 that is coupled to the shaft 24. The shaft 24 has a distal end 28 with respect to the canopy 26 and the shaft 24 has a first half 30 slidably receiving a second half 32. Thus, the shaft 24 has a telescopically adjustable length. The first half 30 has an inside surface 34 and the second half 32 has an outside surface 36. Moreover, each of the inside 34 and the outside 36 surfaces is threaded. The outside surface 36 threadably engages the inside surface 34 such that the second half 32 is selectively screwed into and out of the first half 30 thereby lengthening and shortening the shaft 24.

A hinge 38 is coupled to the distal end of the shaft 24 and the hinge 38 has a first half 40 that is hingedly coupled to a second half 42. The hinge 38 may be a mechanical hinge 38 of any conventional design that may include a pin that pivotally engages each of the first 40 and second 42 halves of the hinge 38. A receiver 44 is coupled to and extends away from the first half 30 and the receiver 44 insertably receives the distal end 28 of the shaft 24. In this way the shaft 24 is removably coupled to the hinge 38. The receiver 44 may comprise a sleeve 43 that has a distal end 45 with respect to the second first half 30 and the distal end 45 of the sleeve 43 may be open. Thus, the distal end 45 of the sleeve 43 may receive the shaft 24.

An engagement 46 is provided and the engagement 46 is coupled to the hinge 38. The engagement 46 engages the belt 12 such that the umbrella 22 is removably coupled to the belt 12. In this way the canopy 26 is retained over the user when the belt 12 is worn. The engagement 46 is coupled to the second half 32 of the hinge 38. Additionally, the hinge 38 facilitates the shaft 24 to be positioned at a selected angle with respect to the belt 12. In this way the umbrella 22 is selectively positioned at a selected orientation with respect to the user, including being tilted in front of the user and being tilted behind the user.

The engagement 46 may include a pair of members 48 that are each coupled to the second half 32 of the hinge 38. Each of the members 48 may a central portion 50 extending between a pair of end portions 52. Each of the end portions 52 corresponding to each of the members 48 may be coupled to the second half 32 of the hinge 38 having the central portion 50 corresponding to each of the members 48 being spaced from the second half 32. The belt 12 may be extended between the central portion 50 of each of the members 48 and the second half 32. In this way the belt 12 may be removably coupled to the engagement 46.

In an alternative embodiment 54 as shown in FIG. 8, each of the members 48 may comprise a leg 56 and a foot 58. The leg 56 corresponding to each of the members 48 may be coupled to the second half 32 having the foot 58 being spaced from the second half 32. The belt 12 may be inserted between the foot 58 corresponding to each of the members 48 and the second half 32 of the hinge 38.

In use, the belt 12 is removably coupled to the engagement 46 and the belt 12 is worn around the waist 14. In this way the shaft 24 extends upwardly from the belt 12 and the canopy 26 is positioned above the user. The first half 30 of the shaft 24 is manipulated to adjust the length of the shaft 24 thereby positioning the canopy 26 at a selected height. The canopy 26 is opened in the convention of umbrella 22 s to provide shade from sunlight and to block precipitation. In this way the belt 12 and the umbrella 22 facilitate hands free employment of the umbrella 22.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A hands-free umbrella assembly being configured to be worn thereby protecting a user from precipitation, said assembly comprising: a belt being configured to be worn around a waist; an umbrella having a shaft and a canopy being coupled to said shaft, said shaft having a distal end with respect to said canopy, said shaft having a first half receiving a second half, said first half having an inside surface, said second half having an outside surface, each of said inside and said outside surfaces being threaded, said outside surface being threaded along a full length of said second half of said shaft, said outside surface threadably engaging said inside surface such that said second half is selectively screwed into and out of said first half thereby lengthening and shortening said shaft such that said shaft has a telescopically adjustable length; a hinge being coupled to said shaft; and an engagement being coupled to said hinge, said engagement engaging said belt such that said umbrella is removably coupled to said belt wherein said canopy is configured to be retained over the user when said belt is worn.
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising: said hinge having a first half being hingedly coupled to a second half; and a receiver being coupled to and extending away from said first half, said receiver insertably receiving said distal end of said shaft.
 5. A hands-free umbrella assembly being configured to be worn thereby protecting a user from precipitation, said assembly comprising: a belt being configured to be worn around a waist, said belt having a first end and a second end, said first end being matable to said second end such that said belt selectively forms a closed loop; an umbrella having a shaft and a canopy being coupled to said shaft, said shaft having a distal end with respect to said canopy, said shaft having a first half slidably receiving a second half such that said shaft has a telescopically adjustable length, said first half having an inside surface, said second half having an outside surface, each of said inside and said outside surfaces being threaded, said outside surface being threaded along a full length of said second half of said shaft, said outside surface threadably engaging said inside surface such that said second half is selectively screwed into and out of said first half thereby lengthening and shortening said shaft such that said shaft has a telescopically adjustable length; a hinge being coupled to said distal end of said shaft, said hinge having a first half being hingedly coupled to a second half; a receiver being coupled to and extending away from said first half, said receiver insertably receiving said distal end of said shaft such that said shaft is removably coupled to said hinge; and an engagement being coupled to said hinge, said engagement engaging said belt such that said umbrella is removably coupled to said belt wherein said canopy is configured to be retained over the user when said belt is worn, said engagement being coupled to said second half of said hinge. 